"To become stronger, at least you need the motivation to survive, right?" Evan Yang thought for a moment, then smiled.
"You're right. If you don't get stronger, you'll just get weaker and become someone else's pawn." Lynn Snowmoon laughed after hearing Evan's words.
"By the way, I heard the Huang Clan only picks the top fifty from each group?" Evan Yang, now a bit worried about the Chu and Situ families, asked Lynn Snowmoon to confirm the information.
"Yeah, the rest will either be eliminated or merged." Lynn Snowmoon nodded.
"Are there any detailed rules for the competition?" Evan Yang glanced at Tara Chu up ahead, feeling worried for the Chu Family's safety.
"I just happen to have a copy. Here." Seeing Evan ask for the rules, Lynn Snowmoon took out a small wooden token. Although it looked simple, it contained a lot of information; as long as you probe it with divine sense, you can clearly see everything inside.
Evan Yang took the wooden token and quickly probed it with his divine sense. He found information about many families and sects, as well as the competition rules. This time, the divisions are Formation, Smithing, Pill, Qi-Path, and Cultivation.
Each division is further split into three groups. The Formation Division has 1st–3rd-grade, 4th–6th-grade, and 7th–9th-grade formation groups.
The Smithing Division includes: Spirit-Tool, Treasure-Tool, and Pseudo-Immortal-Tool groups.
The Pill Division includes: Human-Grade, Earth-Grade, and Heaven-Grade groups.
The Qi-Path Division includes: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced groups.
The Cultivation Division includes: Foundation-Building, Core-Formation, and Core-Breaching groups.
These are the five main divisions. Any sect or family can choose one as their competition path.
Evan Yang looked carefully and found that the Chu Family chose the Foundation-Building bracket, with Tara Chu as their representative, while the Situ Clan picked the Core-Formation bracket, represented by Jace Situ.
"They're both participating." Looking at the two names on the list, Evan Yang muttered to himself, then checked the match schedule—both were set for today and tomorrow.
Each group uses a point system: win a match and earn 2 points, lose and lose 1 point, draw and get 0 points. The final scores determine ranking, and the first-place winner represents their group at the Hundred-Year Grand Festival.
"Wait, if the first-place winner goes to the Grand Festival, what am I supposed to do?" Evan Yang realized a problem. If the Human-Grade group also picks a winner, wouldn't he face them directly at the Festival?
Curious, he asked Lynn Snowmoon, "Fellow Daoist Snow, so the first-place winners represent their group at the Grand Festival—what about Wu Ghost-Hand and the others who were directly advanced?"
"You're wondering if there's a conflict?" Lynn Snowmoon turned and smiled.
"Yeah." Evan Yang nodded.
"Actually, many groups already have pre-advanced participants. In the end, the first-place winners will challenge those who advanced. Whoever succeeds in the challenge gets to attend the Hundred-Year Grand Festival; if not, the pre-advanced participant keeps the slot." Lynn Snowmoon explained Evan Yang's confusion.
"I see." Evan Yang finally understood—so even the pre-advanced participants would still be challenged by the group winners.
"Every Hundred-Year Challenge Tournament is extremely fierce." Lynn Snowmoon laughed when she saw Evan spacing out.
"They're all fighting for the title of top expert in the Eastern Continent. If you lose the challenge, it's like falling from heaven to earth—of course it's intense." Evan Yang smiled, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, not just that—even fighting for the top fifty is brutal. Everyone has to compete in ten matches in a single day, which ordinary people can't handle." Lynn Snowmoon said helplessly.
"Ten matches? In one day?" Evan Yang exclaimed, then habitually glanced toward Tara Chu, wanting to see how she was holding up.
"What are you looking at?" Lynn Snowmoon asked curiously, seeing Evan glance that way.
"Nothing, just a friend who's also competing, so I wanted to check on them." Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"Which family is it?" Lynn Snowmoon looked in the direction Evan had glanced, noting several families and sects there.
"The Chu Family and the Situ Clan." Evan Yang answered directly, not hiding anything.
"I don't know about the Situ Clan, but the Chu Family's girl is impressive—she's already fought two matches and won both." Lynn Snowmoon was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Snow to have such a good memory." Seeing so many competitors, Evan Yang was amused that Lynn Snowmoon remembered the Chu Family so well.
"It's not my memory—she just stands out." Lynn Snowmoon recalled Tara Chu's matches vividly. Evan Yang hadn't seen them, so he asked, "How does she stand out?"
"She's pretty unlucky—her two matches were back-to-back. But after finishing both, her momentum stayed steady, she didn't collapse, and she didn't use any pills." Lynn Snowmoon couldn't quite describe the feeling, so she just told Evan what she saw.
"Could it be...?" Evan Yang thought of the pale-green cluster, remembering how the energy from his own Heaven-Cold Seed helped him quickly recover spiritual power.
Seeing Evan's surprised expression, Lynn Snowmoon asked curiously, "Could it be what?"
"I'm thinking, maybe she's carrying some kind of artifact." Evan Yang quickly changed the subject, since this was his biggest secret and he wasn't planning to let anyone know about the strange things in his body.
"I think so too. Quite a few people tried to approach her, but the Chu Family politely turned them away. But—" Lynn Snowmoon paused.
"But what?"
"The Yellow Envoy up there also sent someone to ask. The Chu Family made excuses, but it's probably not that simple. They'll definitely keep a close eye on her from now on." Lynn Snowmoon pointed to the middle-aged man sitting among the guards.
"Oh?" Hearing this, Evan Yang felt a huge wave of anxiety. If those people really discovered that Tara Chu's abnormal stamina was due to the cluster inside her, it would be trouble. No matter what, he would never let Tara be threatened.
"Are you alright?" Lynn Snowmoon asked curiously, seeing Evan's face darken as he stared at the Yellow Envoy.
Evan Yang snapped back to reality, realizing he'd been distracted, then chuckled, "I'm fine, just a little worried."
"Looks like you care about her quite a bit." Lynn Snowmoon smiled, seeing Evan's expression.
"Her? Haha, she's a good friend of mine. As her friend, how could I not worry?" Evan Yang smiled.
This line is irrelevant to the novel and can be skipped.
"Indeed, Brother Mu, you really do have a good personality. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Snow can become your friend?" Lynn Snowmoon laughed.
"Of course, it'd be my honor." Evan Yang smiled.
Seeing Evan's smile, Lynn Snowmoon felt a warmth in her heart and recalled that night, then smiled, "Thank you."
Just as Evan Yang was about to say 'no need to thank me,' an announcement rang out: "Next match, Chu Family versus Sevenmile Peak."
Chu Family versus Sevenmile Peak. Upon hearing the announcement, Evan Yang and Lynn Snowmoon both looked over, just in time to see Tara Chu ready and stepping into one of the formation shields, while a young man entered the other.
"That guy is a Sevenmile Peak disciple. His cultivation is about the same as Miss Chu's, and he's also won two matches, so this one might be tough." Lynn Snowmoon explained to Evan Yang, who didn't recognize the disciple.
Evan Yang watched the competitors as he listened, then smiled, "Fellow Daoist Snow, you really do pay close attention."
"Anyone who wins two matches in a row can't be underestimated. There are only a few who manage that, since just recovering spiritual power is tough unless their family or sect invests in top-tier pills to help them keep fighting." Lynn Snowmoon laughed.
"Pills?" Evan Yang recalled using premium crystal sources as energy before, and now he felt it was a bit wasteful.
"Yeah, here—I have a few Heaven-Grade Qi-Gathering Pills. They can restore peak spiritual power within an hour." Lynn Snowmoon, seeing Evan's curiosity, took out a small bottle and handed it to him.
"No need, you keep them." Evan Yang smiled, thinking that with his Heaven-Cold Seed, an hour was more than enough to recover to peak condition.
Seeing Evan decline, Lynn Snowmoon had no choice but to put the bottle away with a smile. "Looks like my things really don't impress Brother Mu."
"Fellow Daoist Snow, that's not what I meant." Evan Yang said awkwardly, not wanting to appear dismissive of the pills.
"I'm just joking. No need to take it seriously—maybe you can give them to your friend." Lynn Snowmoon laughed, seeing Evan's awkward expression.
"Give them to Tara Chu?" Evan Yang thought for a moment, then smiled, "Thanks a lot."
"These are refined at Jinxiu Peak—they should help her in the competition." Lynn Snowmoon said simply. Evan Yang felt deeply grateful. "Then I'll thank you on Miss Chu's behalf."
"Brother Mu, you're too polite. No need to thank me in the future." Lynn Snowmoon shook her head and smiled.
"Guess I'm just old-fashioned." Evan Yang smiled.
"Go ahead, I'll wait here." Lynn Snowmoon said to Evan Yang, glancing at Tara Chu, who was already competing. Evan nodded, took the bottle, and left.
Watching Evan Yang leave, Violet asked, "Junior Sister, why did you give him all that?"
"He's just helping a friend, and besides, he helped us yesterday." Lynn Snowmoon didn't explain further.
"Who exactly is Fellow Daoist Mu?" Violet muttered, watching Evan Yang's back.
"You'll find out eventually." Lynn Snowmoon smiled, seeming to know Evan Yang well. Violet, however, couldn't figure out what was going on between the two.
Evan Yang, graceful as ever, walked onto the field and quickly arrived at the Chu Family's camp, just as Tara Chu's match with the Sevenmile Peak disciple was heating up.
"She should be fine." Seeing Tara Chu's momentum drop slower than her opponent's, Evan Yang finally relaxed. When she knocked out her opponent and was declared the winner for the third time, the Chu Family was overjoyed, though some people looked worried.
The Yellow Envoy kept his eyes fixed on Tara Chu, lost in thought.
"How is this girl so strong?" After watching Tara Chu win her third match, Ghosthand Bai muttered in disbelief.
"Maybe she has some artifact." Nangong Yan wasn't really paying attention to the match and just replied casually.
Ghosthand Bai continued to watch the Chu Family curiously and happened to notice a young man standing there. The silhouette seemed familiar, so he probed with his divine sense, but realized he didn't know him and withdrew helplessly.
Soon, Tara Chu returned and saw Evan Yang standing there. In front of everyone, Evan took out the bottle and smiled, "A friend asked me to give this to you."